Heavy snowfall, blizzard in southern Romania: roads closed, dozens of trains canceled

The heavy snowfall and blizzard of the past hours have caused disruptions and delays in the road, railway and air traffic in southern Romania. Bucharest and 14 counties in southern Romania are under a Code Orange for heavy snowfall, blizzard and low visibility until 15:00 on March 23. In the south of the Banat and Oltenia regions, the largest part of Muntenia and Dobrogea, the wind is expected to reach speeds of 50 to 60 km per hour, even 65 to 75 km per hour occasionally, leading to decreased visibility. A Code Yellow for frost is in place on March 23 until 20:00 in Banat, Oltenia, Muntenia, Dobrogea, and the southern half of Moldova. Mixed precipitations of rain and snow and ice are expected in eastern Dobrogea. Temperatures below zero degrees Celsius are expected throughout the country until next week. Night temperatures could fall down to minus 12 degrees Celsius in eastern Transylvania and Moldova. The public schools are closed on March 23 in the capital and in ten other counties where weather warnings are in place, namely Giurgiu, Dâmboviţa, Prahova, Teleorman, Buzău, Dolj, Călăraşi, Ilfov, Olt, and Ialomiţa. Because of the weather, over 40 passenger trains linking Bucharest to Constanţa and Tulcea, Sibiu to Craiova, and Buzău to Constanţa were canceled, the state-owned railway operator CFR said. In Bucharest’s North Railway Station, trains arriving from Timişoara, Mărăşeşti, Satu Mare, Craiova, Buzău, Târgovişte and Galaţi had delays of up to 35 minutes. All railway segments in the country are open and operational but the trains are running according to the weather conditions, especially in the counties in southern Romania, CFR said. In the south of the country, only diesel engine-trailed trains run on seven railway segments because of the blizzards. Snow ploughs have been deployed on the Bucharest – Lehliu and Videle – Giugiru segments. The train schedule can be checked here. The air traffic on the Bucharest’s main airport, Henri Coandă, was also impacted. Delays of up to two hours were registered throughout the morning of March 23. The flight schedule at the Henri Coandă airport can be checked here. Traffic on the highway A2, which links the capital to the seaside city of Constanţa, remains closed on the segment between Bucharest and Drajna because of the strong blizzard and low visibility. Several national roads are also closed. The national road DN7, between Goleşti and the border of the Argeş county, is closed after several trucks were snowed in. The DN 13A, between Miercurea Ciuc and Odorheiu Secuiesc, is closed and a restriction is in place for vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tons. The road traffic was blocked during the morning of March 23 on DN 11, between Braşov and Bacău, in the area of the Oituz passage, after the heavy snowfalls. Meanwhile, on the DN7, linking Piteşti to Râmnicu Vâlcea and Sibiu, a 15 km long car line formed between Sibiu and Râmnicu Vâlcea because of the snow. At the same time, the National Mountain Rescue Service announced that there is a high risk for avalanche in all mountain massifs in the country. The service advised tourists to request information on the mountain tracks they wish to explore before starting their tours.